An anonymous reader quotes a report from DW: India has surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy, according to calculations in the Indian government's end-of-year economic review. On current trends, India is expected to overtake Germany to become the world's third-largest economy within the next three years, the review said.

The review said India's gross domestic product has already reached about $4.18 trillion, and is projected to reach $7.3 trillion by 2030. On current trends, it said, India would trail only the United States and China in economic heft. India's real GDP grew 8.2% in the second quarter of the 2025-26 financial year, up from 7.8% in the previous quarter and marking a six-quarter high.

Export performance has also strengthened, the review noted. Merchandise exports rose to $38.13 billion in November, up from $36.43 billion in January, supported by engineering goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and petroleum products. Official confirmation however depends on data due in 2026 when final annual GDP figures are released. The International Monetary Fund suggests India will surpass Japan next year. The Reserve Bank of India has revised its growth forecast for the 2025-26 financial year upward to 7.3%.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

China is quietly mandating that chipmakers use at least 50% domestically made equipment when expanding capacity, "as Beijing pushes to build a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain," according to Reuters. From the report: The rule is not publicly documented, but chipmakers seeking state approval to build or expand their plants have been told by authorities in recent months that they must prove through procurement tenders that at least half their equipment will be Chinese-made, the people told Reuters. The mandate is one of the most significant measures Beijing has introduced to wean itself off reliance on foreign technology, a push that gathered pace after the U.S. tightened technology export restrictions in 2023, banning sales of advanced AI chips and semiconductor equipment to China.

While those U.S. export restrictions blocked the sale of some of the most advanced tools, the 50% rule is leading Chinese manufacturers to choose domestic suppliers even in areas where foreign equipment from the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Europe remain available. Applications failing the threshold are typically rejected, though authorities grant flexibility depending on supply constraints, the people said. The requirements are relaxed for advanced chip production lines, where domestically developed equipment is not yet fully available. "Authorities prefer if it is much higher than 50%," one source told Reuters. "Eventually they are aiming for the plants to use 100% domestic equipment."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

peaceful-jp-scenery has added a photo to the pool:

Near of Tokyo Station
東京駅周辺

I didn't know there was such a large pine park right next to Tokyo Station.
Thank you very much for your support this year.
I wish you Happy New Year!!

東京駅のすぐそばに、このように広い松の公園があるのですね。
本年も皆様には大変お世話になりました。
良いお年をお迎え下さい。

[16:9 trimming]
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo pref, Japan

Matthias Harbers has added a photo to the pool:

Odaiba

Matthias Harbers has added a photo to the pool:

Odaiba

Andy Atzert has added a photo to the pool:

Tokyo

uchi uchi has added a photo to the pool:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

uchi uchi has added a photo to the pool:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Near of Tokyo Station
東京駅周辺

I didn't know there was such a large pine park right next to Tokyo Station.
Thank you very much for your support this year.
I wish you Happy New Year!!

東京駅のすぐそばに、このように広い松の公園があるのですね。
本年も皆様には大変お世話になりました。
良いお年をお迎え下さい。

[16:9 trimming]
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo pref, Japan

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide, March 1973

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Akihabara Electric Town
秋葉原電気街

I hadn't been to Akihabara in a while, but it was pedestrian-only on the weekend.

久しく行っていなかった秋葉原ですが、週末は歩行者天国になっていました。

Akihabara, Tokyo pref, Japan

peaceful-jp-scenery posted a photo:

Fujibakama of my home
自宅のフジバカマ

As the weather gets colder, frost flowers have bloomed on the Eupatorium japonicum, which usually dies in winter. I plan to plant more next year, but the reason they didn't grow well this year may be because they are susceptible to disease caused by continuous planting.

寒くなり、冬は枯れてしまうフジバカマに霜の花が咲きました。来年はもっと植えるつもりですが、今年育ちが悪かった理由は連作による病気に弱いのかも。

Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka city, Japan

Zohran Mamdani appears not to understand that smartphones can be used for evil

New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has invited the city’s residents to join him at a block party to celebrate his inauguration but told attendees not to bring a Raspberry Pi to the event.…

MACHU PICCHU (ANP) - Een frontale botsing tussen twee treinen op de spoorlijn naar Machu Picchu in Peru heeft een dode en minstens 40 gewonden geëist. De overledene was de machinist van een van de twee treinen, aldus het openbaar ministerie in Cusco, de plaats die het dichtst bij de beroemde Incastad ligt.

De voornaamste verbinding met Machu Picchu is een trein vanuit Cusco naar Aguas Calientes. Vanuit dat dorp kunnen toeristen een bus nemen naar de Incastad, die niet rechtstreeks via de weg bereikbaar is. Video's die passagiers naar de televisiezender RPP stuurden, toonden gewonde slachtoffers die naast het spoor lagen en twee beschadigde locomotieven.

Machu Picchu is een van de belangrijkste toeristische attracties in Zuid-Amerika en behoort sinds 1983 tot het Unesco-werelderfgoed. De stad, inmiddels een ruïne, werd in de vijftiende eeuw gesticht door de Inca's en bestaat uit ongeveer tweehonderd gebouwen. Dagelijks komen er duizenden bezoekers.

BERLIJN (ANP) - Europa moet zijn belangen sterker behartigen om vrede en welvaart in 2026 te garanderen, te midden van uitdagingen zoals Russische agressie, wereldwijd protectionisme en veranderende betrekkingen met de Verenigde Staten. Dat stelde de Duitse bondskanselier Friedrich Merz in een nieuwjaarstoespraak.

Merz zei onder meer dat de oorlog in Oekraïne een directe bedreiging vormt voor de vrijheid en veiligheid van het continent. "We zien steeds duidelijker dat de Russische agressie onderdeel is van een plan gericht tegen heel Europa", aldus Merz. Dat laatste zou blijken uit het feit dat Duitsland volgens Merz dagelijks te maken heeft met sabotage, spionage en cyberaanvallen.

Sinds zijn aantreden in mei heeft Merz een voortrekkersrol gespeeld in de Europese inspanningen om Oekraïne te steunen in de strijd tegen Rusland. Berlijn heeft sinds 2023 ook de defensie-uitgaven verhoogd.

Merz noemde ook protectionisme in de wereldeconomie als uitdaging voor Europa en wees erop dat de Europese afhankelijkheid van geïmporteerde grondstoffen steeds vaker als politiek drukmiddel wordt gebruikt.

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

Popplio728 has added a photo to the pool:

A selfie in Belair National Park!
It's been 15 Remarkable Years since I first joined Flickr!